Intercultural Simulation Games for Management Education in Japan*

Managers in Japan are isolated both geographically and psychologi-cally from encountering people from other cultures. This presents a difficulty in acquiring competency in intercultural communication, an increasingly needed skill for corporate internationalization. Undergraduate education in the economics, commerce, and management departments of major universities can play a role in addressing this need. Simulation games, in particular, allow students to both experience meeting another culture in a short time and discover new dimensions of self-awareness, cultural sensitivity and communication skills. This paper justifies the use of simulation in relation to traditional class-room methods, compares five different intercultural simulation games devel-oped for management training in North America and documents a case study of adapting one of these simulation games with a group of interna-tional business students in Japan. This simulation, called Bafa Bafa, was tested with fifteen students, aged 19-22, who experienced three hours o